LITERATURE - Edward Gibbon

The news is often determined to tell us that we live in uniquely critical times, beset by political disasters and afflicted by terrible crises and that the demise of human civilisation is surely imminent. We are encouraged to view the world - and our own lives - in bleak, apocalyptic terms. Oddly, as the great 18th century historian Edward Gibbon shows us, history can be powerfully consoling, not because it tells us that our times are great, but because it shows us how normal large societal troubles really are.

FURTHER READING

“The news is often determined to tell us that we live in uniquely critical times, beset by political disasters and afflicted by terrible crises and that the demise of human civilisation is surely imminent. We are encouraged to view the world - and our own lives - in bleak, apocalyptic terms. Oddly, history can be powerfully consoling, not because it tells us that our times are great, but because it shows us how normal large societal troubles really are. The English 18th century historian Edward Gibbon is particularly helpful with this task of bringing us to a less frightened perspective. His massive, elegantly written work covers 1500 years, from the pinnacle of Roman power around the year 180 AD, through the collapse of the Western Empire to the final fall of its last outpost, the city of Constantinople, in 1453. Gibbon started work on the series of volumes around 1770 and completed the final volume on a summer’s evening in 1787 while he was on holiday in Switzerland…”

MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE

Watch more films on LITERATURE in our playlist:

SOCIAL MEDIA

Feel free to follow us at the links below:

CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Tracy Wedderburn

Title animation produced in collaboration with

Vale Productions

[JB-lovin]

Worried about the state of our society today? Never fear, just wait around for a couple of decades or hundreds of years. No worries.

[snigdho]

The school of life has helped me control my anxiety, changed my perspectives and become a more rational human being. Thank you for these vlauable videos to navigate the times of chaos.

[daltonbradford]

Hey School of Life! Just want to let you know that I've used your videos as educational tools with certain advanced English students and they have been wonderful!

[crylove]

This is exactly how I felt when the war came to my city in 2022. It is not the end of the world. When russia started bombing my city, I knew it's not the end of the world, it might be the end of the world for me and other people near me but not for everybody on Earth. I had to realize that if I'm going to perish, we are still are ok, we, humans. When you in the center of war suddenly, it creates a great contrast on reality. I am nothing and everything. Every little choice I make can help the whole country and people around me, I've never saw it myself until I had to. Before the war I did not really believed in voting and doing anything, I was thinking like everybody - My vote or acts about anything won't make a difference, but then, during the war, becoming a volunteer made me see the reality as it is, even if you're nobody without any connections to people in charge or with money, if you do something for good and reach to people, you can find what and who you looking for. It seems like you can't do anything when you never did anything, because you literally never tried, but when you start doing something. helping and trying to reach for help, opportunities appear. It is not true, people are good, sometimes very good, if they see you trying to do some good stuff, they will help you.
So voting and doing something to make our society better is real, I saw it with own my eyes, before the war in Ukraine, all I heard from everybody and everywhere that people are corrupt, no one cares about you, government too, I was dissapointed in life and people a bit. The war started and I jumped to help people in need and guess what, I was not the only one, I don't care about the government, because I think it was not helping much in the beginning, but people, just simple people started to gather to help, buy guns, help someone in need and everything, I was shocked that there are so many good people here around me. I was dissapointed in people before, but I didn't even blink to stay and do nothing. Guys, you know what to do, your one life can make a difference even if you think you can't.
Love your videos the school of life, it helped me understand myself, others and the wolrd around me, thank you very much.
Sorry for my English. Hello from a Zaporizhian Cossack city :)

[RachelRhiarti]

My mother used to habitually lament that "the world's gone mad"... which seemed an odd take to me from someone whose childhood memories included having the front of her how bombed off. Odd how humans consider themselves such an advanced species while seemingly the only ones who manufacture most of the disasters we fear we won't survive.

[Marcus-evbq]

"Rome may have fallen, but its ideals, culture, language, art, architecture and philosophy continue to live on, proving that its legacy will never be forgotten."

[nizasiamehenry]

Here is how the world survives in summary:
1. New forces developing in the background.
2. Renewal and elevation
3. Reflecting on disaster

[peter.forster]

Very good, although I'm not sure that many people will find the message, "Your society may be collapsing but those people over there will benefit from it, " all that reassuring.

[lotfibouhedjeur]

What a great lesson. Just what I need for my generalized anxiety.

[captain-chair]

Historicism is indeed one of my coping mechanisms as a fan of history.

I do my best to try and essentially spread thoughts like this and it's good to see a high quality video covering it.

My favourite saying is:

"In the dark, the light is blinding."

And that is how Human hope works. Hope and freedom is what inspired people to resist the Nazis while knowing full well it could kill them or be met with harsh repercussions.

The Italian resistance song 'Bella Ciao' rings to mind when I think of this revolutionary kind of optimism. History was not changed by the pessimist who calls it all hopeless. History was changed by the optimist who had hope.

Why be a pessimist, when instead you could be an optimist and try? Hope is an essential part of our being. Depression is described by feeling truly helpless and that may make one think that there is no point living.

But there is a parallel.

Collective depression and Individual depression. Individual depression is a mental illness. And collective depression is a society of a collective equivalent to depression.

A society that lacks hope will crumble on its depression. And an individual with depression will crumble on their depression if they remain deprived of hope.

The depression can't be cured just by hope however. I say that as someone who probably has depression. As a result of neglect of people like me with ADHD and Autism. But I don't experience collective depression, I only experience individual depression.

Nothing has given me more hope in myself and that of humanity than learning about other like me, who share the same difficult circumstances. Because collective depression is one of loneliness and lack of community. Collective hope is the cure but that hope can only come from realising the power of the collective.

*We* will overcome.

Just this morning I read an article which detailed how China has massively decreased their CO2 emissions.

And while some overly focus on the dark. It's information like this that shines the brightest and ignites the spark of hope. And change is a powder keg. The one spark needed may be all thats needed to push the progress of humanity forward.

I am no serf tilling a field in the 16th century during a localised outbreak of a disease.

I am a modern Human in the 21st century typing on a phone which connects me to the majority of Humanity.

What is there not to be hopeful of? The historical trend is in the camp of optimism. We just by living in the present hyperfocus on the bad. When the future while bleak looking, will be made beautiful by what we will do to stop it.

Remember only a century ago... The world was far different. And I would say we have already seen massive improvements when compared to merely a quarter of a century ago.

Don't give in to collective depression. It's a trick, and a lie.

Lets fight for a better world.

[trinaq]

Thank you very much for your insightful videos, School of Life, I find them very helpful.

[jamppamaattori]

A great book that tries to give this perspective is Omega: The Last Days of the World by Camille Flammarion. It is an apocalyptic sci-fi story with a surprisingly positive twist and it is also written by an actual astronomer.

[photomukund]

The disappointment is not with the news, it is with the fact that humanity never learns. Even Gibbon would be depressed today.

[samoke]

I'm not a doomsday monger or anything like the sort. However I do have a passion for history and fallen civilizations. When I look at society I see decline but that's only my opinion backed with no evidence...until you start to compare our society to the ones who have fallen throughout history and that is when the similarities show in abundance. Its one thing to just make an opinion but when you start to look at the evidence and see that we are repeating the very things that made civilizations before us collapse, you cant just push it to the side and hope for the best. Changes need to be made

[StoreyofGee]

Wonderful video. As a history nerd myself, I've been saying this for years, this video summaries what I couldn't convey perfectly.

[Pheelyp]

I think it is reasonable to note that modifying the very planetary processes that human civilization has relied on for tens of thousands of years merits more alarm than usual.

[rosalieharrison]

Thank you! This video is like looking at the stars - it orientates me to my tiny place in the universe and lightens the burden of crippling responsibility.

[theschooloflifetv]

What other periods of history might help provide some useful perspective on our present anxieties? Let us know in the comments below.

[aluisious]

The Romans weren't destroying the rest of the planetary ecology. We are truly fucked.

[RodneyDaut]

I love this video. I feel history can give us a wider perspective that is soothing to the soul. Thanks for being a voice of reason amidst the voices screaming about chaos.